296 – Mock Battle & Reserve Force
Having said this, it is almost impossible to create effective training beyond these two (guerrilla training and formal training) until gunpowder weapons appear. Do.
Guerrilla training specifically helps strengthen soldiers’ mental strength and develop physical strength to withstand extreme situations, and formal training transforms new recruits from human-shaped scarecrows into spear-holding soldiers in just four weeks. Because it is a training that shows miracles.
However, we can provide training to soldiers and officers who have not experienced actual combat to show them how grueling and difficult actual combat is.
After hearing my words, the emperor asked with a very curious expression.
“What is that?”
“It is a mock battle training, and I have improved it in my own way.”
“… Mock battle training is something that is often done not only in academies but also in general units. What’s the difference?”
“We aim for training that is as close to actual practice as possible. Therefore, we plan to proceed in a similar way as when we actually went to war.”
Both in Korea before I was possessed here and in the Reich Empire after I was possessed, all the officers talked about carrying out training close to actual combat.
The Empire’s mock battle training tends to be too simple and uniform.
What this means is that in the past, in a mock battle where promotion to major was on the line, no matter how much it was for show, we fought in the auditorium as if it were a friendly match between battalions.
Mock battles for other units are carried out almost similarly to this, and even in mock battle training, training is not conducted to prevent the unit from being ambushed by the enemy while marching or being ambushed during camp.
Furthermore, one important lesson I learned while fighting on the battlefield is that the most important thing in war is the coordination of division units.
However, for reasons such as supply issues, the Empire’s mock wars are only mock wars in the form of friendly matches at the largest regiment level…
This type of training alone is insufficient to produce officers and soldiers who can adequately respond in actual combat.
So, after thinking about it carefully, we cannot introduce innovative items such as Miles equipment due to technical limitations, but even a practical mock battle borrowed from the KCTC training format would be incredibly helpful.
Officers and soldiers who have personally fought this will have accumulated experience close to a real war, and by analyzing and researching the various problems that occurred here and their countermeasures and sending them to the Staff College, they will have a much more practical combat doctrine. Because it will help in formation.
“The officers said they would give 10 out of 10 and 100 out of 100 practical training, but in reality, many of them were not that great. Will you show me more training than I expected? What specifically do you plan to do?”
“The opposing troops will each be organized into one division, and both armies will move to a specific battle area and engage in a mock battle.”
“Considering that officers at the Staff College also advised that a mock battle at the division level is necessary for an actual battle, it seems okay. “Keep talking.”
The emperor seemed unable to hide his curiosity about how this new battle would unfold, his expression showing interest.
“In the past, mock battles were fought on a flat area according to set rules like joust (jousting), but the mock battle I designed is training from the beginning of the training until the end of the mock battle. In other words, just like in a real battle, a mock battle is conducted without knowing when the enemy will surprise you.”
“In other words, if you know the enemy’s route at any time, you can set up an ambush there and launch a surprise operation. It’s different from the Empire’s normal mock battles. “You can gain enough experience with just one training session.”
“In addition, through the ingenious tricks of officers and non-commissioned officers participating in actual training, we can also come up with strategies to fool the enemy.”
Even though it is a small bad thing that I will use later when I return to work, whether it’s suspension or something else.
Send a soldier to the enemy base and have him run away after hearing only the octopus among the secret words. Then, ask other enemy scouts doing night reconnaissance in the vicinity for the octopus first to secure the answer.
If you completely secure the secret language, you can use it to insert friendly troops into enemy troops at night to burn supplies and assassinate commanders.
In addition, we can inflict pain by tightening the leash on the enemy, such as sending our troops to the rear and cutting off the enemy’s supply line.
Sometimes there will be cases where you come up with an unimaginably good strategy, and on the other hand, there will be cases where you do unimaginable stupid things and get caught, so there is an advantage in being able to learn from them all.
“Those who directly participated in this division-level mock battle will be able to experience how different real combat is from what they learn at school and other training, so it will be easy for them to adapt to the field even if they enter the battlefield immediately after taking a 5-year break from war. . Additionally, officers who read papers analyzing the problems discovered in this training will make fewer mistakes in actual combat.”
If you think about it, training is ultimately a process of developing your abilities so that you can fight without acting like a fool on the actual battlefield.
In a sense, a mock battle where these lessons can be learned can be considered as effective training as guerrilla training or formal training.
“Then do you have any intention of increasing the period of service or number of soldiers? I think we could conscript about 50,000 more people. “Minister of Military Affairs Kaitel also said that it could be increased to just ‘50,000’.”
Conscripting 50,000 more people actually means that 100,000 people’s worth of food and productivity will be lost.
If more than 50,000 men become soldiers, 50,000 key workers will be left empty across the country, and food production will decrease accordingly.
In addition, soldiers are like money-eating hippopotamuses who consume food and supplies, assuming that war does not occur.
If we include the need to buy more food to feed 50,000 people, the loss of food and productivity for 100,000 people is inevitable.
“The empire is now devastated due to almost non-stop war for 10 years. In this situation, increasing the number of soldiers is not considered a good choice. Therefore, I think it is best to introduce a reserve force system.”
The emperor looked very curious at the word ‘reserve army’.
“Reserve forces, reserve forces. “It literally sounds like an army that can be mobilized in case of an emergency.”
“Yes, that’s right. “The Empire does not know when it will face the allied forces of neighboring countries in the future, so we kept in mind that it may have to mobilize over a million soldiers if necessary.”
1 Million is a number that brings to mind China’s anti-invasion tactics, but the Reich Empire in this fantasy world operates over 500,000 troops as a standing army alone.
Therefore, there are 2 million reservists within 5 years of discharge, so if we utilize this, we can deploy a million troops in an emergency.
However, the Empire does not provide training after discharge from the military, so when actual combat breaks out, it is difficult to use soldiers even as third-level troops, even if they are former officers.
In the worst case, we will have to retrain for just a week and create a force that can play the minimum role.
“Here are the details. Young people living in each city and village who have been discharged from the military receive three days of training once a year. On the first day, we conduct organization and rituals on where to go when the order to convene is given. On the second day, we conduct formal training all day long. On the third day, we conduct a mock battle with the reserve forces from the next village to ensure that we do not forget the minimum sense.”
Why, even when I lived in Korea, I often heard that among the reserve forces, there were monsters who were better at handling weapons or had greater athletic ability than the trainers, even though they had been discharged for several years.
It is said that if the rest of the people train with the bait of ‘early discharge’, there are quite a few who show up to be just as good as the active-duty soldiers.
I believe that with this level of training, they will be able to play a minimal role on the battlefield since they have been soldiers for three years and have fought in real combat.
“Women also undergo the same three-day reserve force training. However, it is intended to help with rear support, not combat training. “We need to teach them things like cooking assistance and first aid during combat, as well as the ability to follow control.”
The emperor crumpled his face a little when he heard what I said.
“It will become a country that is biased towards the military. “I don’t really feel like it…”
I also did not want to bring up the reserve force system.
However, there is only one reason for proposing this system.
“Your Majesty, the reserve force system is the only way to save the Reich Empire and its people when the worst happens. “If you don’t prepare for the worst, your empire could fall at any time.”
“…… If thoroughly prepared, the empire will be able to ensure the peace of its people, the safety of the empire, and a leap forward. “I will submit both of your suggestions to the Chief of Staff.”
“Thank you, I’ll stop then…”
When I was about to retreat, His Majesty called me over.
“Ah, before that, the decision to purge the Manstein group last time came out in parliament tonight. It will be officially delivered to you tomorrow, but I will deliver it to you now. “It’s not a secret name related to the military, but I also had something I wanted to ask for, so it worked out well.”